They spoke out about Larry Nassar's sexual abuse. Now they're helping support other survivors

Trinea Gonczar (left) and Amanda Thomashow have co-founded a new Detroit-based nonprofit organization to support survivors of sexual assault through healing, education and advocacy.(Photo: Courtesy photo)

DETROIT — No survivor of sexual assault should ever stand alone.

That's the idea at the core of Survivor Strong, a new nonprofit that two survivors of Larry Nassar's sexual abuse formed to "educate institutions and advocate for change to create a world where sexual assault survivors will know they never have to stand alone."

Trinea Gonczar and Amanda Thomashow announced the new organization Monday.

“Support, awareness and advocacy are all things we need to create a world free of sexual violence,” Gonczar said in the release. “These are embedded in Survivor Strong’s core, and we are forming this organization to help survivors and their families receive equitable opportunities for healing and justice.”

Gonczar and Thomashow — who told police and Michigan State University that Nassar assaulted her during a medical appointment in his university office — both provided victim impact statements during the disgraced doctor's seven-day sentencing hearing in Ingham County last year.

Thomashow was the first to use the term "Army of survivors" during the hearings before Circuit Court Judge Rosemarie Aquilina.

She said in a statement she's "so grateful to be able to turn this moment into a movement through Survivor Strong."

"We have the opportunity to shift society from a culture that enables predators to one that empowers survivors, and we're ready to get to work," Thomashow said in the release.

Education and advocacy

The new nonprofit, based in Detroit, will train organizations ranging from hospitals to colleges to law offices on working with people who have been sexually assaulted.

That training will help organizations create trauma-informed, survivor-centric systems that prevent assaults before they happen.

Survivor Strong will do outreach about its training to organizations across the country. Groups can also request training or ask for Gonczar or Thomashow to speak at events.

Survivor Strong also will advocate for legal reform on reporting and prosecuting sexual assault — Title IX reform and consent education are two issues the organizations plans to address.

The group also will work to develop a pilot program of healing and retreat opportunities, starting with sites in Metro Detroit and Michigan as a whole.

Survivor Strong got its initial funding from a private foundation. Gonczar and Thomashow will seek more funding to keep the organization going. Anyone can donate on the group's website.

Extension of current work

Gonczar and Thomashow already have dedicated their lives to the cause of helping other survivors of sexual assault.

Gonczar is director of development at the Wayne County Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners program in Detroit and speaks nationally about her experience.

Thomashow's Title IX complaint against Nassar is at the center of criminal charges against former MSU administrators, including one case in which she's serving as a witness for the Michigan Attorney General's Office.

Her report, in April 2014, prompted investigations by both MSU police and the university. The school's Title IX investigation found Nassar didn't violate policy, and MSU has never officially reopened the case. The police investigation lasted more than a year, ending when prosecutors declined to charge Nassar.

Thomashow alsoserved as the campus sexual assault response and prevention coordinator for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

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A wall in the exhibit "Finding Our Voice: Sister Survivors Speak" at the MSU Museum shows pictures of young girls and women at the age Larry Nassar began sexually abusing them. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal

A triptych by University of Michigan senior Jordyn Fishman entitled "Together We Roar! Pt. 2." Fishman's painting is part of the Michigan State University Museum's "Finding Our Voice: Sister Survivors Speak" exhibit that opens Tuesday, April 16, 2019. It runs through March 30, 2020 in the main gallery and part of the second floor, where Fishman's painting is located. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal

Katie Black, a Nassar survivor and co-curator of the Michigan State Univeristy Museum's "Finding Our Voice, Sister Survivors Speak" exhibit, pictured Monday, April 15, 2019 in the museum. The show opens April 16 and runs through March 30, 2020 in the main gallery. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal

From left, artist Jordyn Fishman and co-curators Katie Black, Amanda Smith and Melissa Hudecz, in front of the piece "Trees as Witnesses," part of a new MSU Museum exhibit that opens April 16 and runs through March of 2020. All four are survivors of Larry Nassar's abuse. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal

Katie Black, a survivor of Larry Nassar and co-curator of the Michigan State University Museum's "Finding Our Voice: Sister Survivors Speak" exhibit, stands among makeshift trees with the actual teal bows and ribbons that were hung throughout campus to honor survivors of sexual abuse. The exhibit opens Tuesday, April 16, 2019, and runs through March 2020 in the main gallery and part of the second floor. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal

Amanda Smith, a survivor of Larry Nassar and co-curator of "Finding Our Voice: Sister Survivors Speak" stands in front one of the pieces in the MSU Museum's exhibit honoring victims of sexual assault. Smith holds a picture of herself at the age when Nassar's abuse began. The show opens Tuesday, April 16 and runs through March 2020. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal

Melissa Hudecz, a survivor of Larry Nassar and co-curator of "Finding our Voice: Sister Survivors Speak," stands in front one of the pieces in the MSU Museum's exhibit that opens Tuesday, April 16 and runs through March of 2020. Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal